Mail-bag delivering and receiving apparatus.



T. REEVES. MAIL BAG DELIVERING AND REGEIVING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 15, 1912.

T. REEVES.

MAIL BAG DELIVERING AND RECEIVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. 1912.

1,035,742. Patented Aug. 13, 1912..

3 BHEETS-SHEET 2.

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IAPPLIOATION FILED A'PR.15, 1912. 1,()35,742 Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

3 BHBETS QHEET 3.

witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

TIMOTHY REEVES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MAIL-BAG DELIVERING AND RECEIVING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY REEVES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Delivering and Receiving Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in mail bag delivering and receiving apparatus. One object of the invention is to improve the apparatus shown in United States Patent No. 1,003,294. granted to me September 12, 1911 whereby the construction is simplified and made stronger, more durable and effective.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists of certaln novel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully de scribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a side view of a car and a bag supporting crane showing the invention applied therei to; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view through a part of a railway car showing the application of the invention thereto and illustrating the projected position of the bag supporting mechanism of the car; Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of the bag supporting and delivering mechanism of the car; Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of the crane and the bag supporting mechanism thereon; Fig. 5 is an end view of the same; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail front end view of the bag supporting arm and hook; Fig. 7 is a side view of the same; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the operating mechanism for the bag supporting frame of the car.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes a railway mail car which is provided with the usual side door 2, through which the mail bags are received and delivered. Suitably secured in the upper portion of the car is a guiding and supporting track 3. To the upper portion of the car at the inner end of the track 3 is also secured an air cylinder 4 in which is slidably mounted a piston 5, the piston rod 6 of which projects a suitable distance beyond the cylinder and is secured to the guiding and supporting carriage 7 the upper end of which is slidably Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 15, 1912.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

Serial No. 690,903.

engaged with the track 3. The carriage 7 is n'eferably in the form of a rectangular frame having side plates 8 provided on their upper ends with inwardly turned track engaging flanges S) which are adapted to slidably engage guide grooves 10 in the opposite sides of the track 3 as shown.

Suitably secured to the cylinder 1 is a valve casing 11 in which is arranged a fourway air controlling valve 12. Connected to the opposite sides of the valve casing and leading to the opposite ends of the cylinder 1 are air conducting pipes 13 and 14. To the valve casing 11 is also connected an air inlet or supply pipe 15 and in the opposite side of the valve casing from the inlet pipe 15 is arranged an exhaust port 16. The valve casing 11 is preferably secured to the lower side of the cylinder 4 by a tubular supporting member 17 in which is arranged an air discharge port 18 as shown. The valve 12 is provided with a stem having on its outer end a hand-wheel or other suitable form of handle 19 whereby the valve may be turned to connect either of the air conducting pipes 13 and 14 with the air inlet pipe whereby a charge of compressed air may be admitted to either end of the cylinder for forcing the piston therein outwardly or inwardly. The valve may also be turned by its handle to connect either of the pipes 13 and 14 with the exhaust port 16 in the easing. The pipe connections and ports are arranged in the valve casing 11 in such mannor that when the valve is turned to connect either of the pipes 13 or 14 with the inlet pipe 15, the opposite air conducting pipe will be connected with the discharge port, so that when a fresh charge of air is admitted to the cylinder on one side of the piston the air in the opposite end of the cylinder will be discharged through the exhaust ports in the valve casing, and its supporting member 17 as described.

On the outer end of the piston rod 6 is formed or otherwise firmly secured a forked bag delivering and receiving arm 20. The upper member or finger 21 of the forked arm 20 is spaced a suitable distance from and is of considerably greater length than the lower member or finger 22. On the outer end of the upper member or finger 21. is arranged a bag supporting or holding mechanism comprising a stationary bag receiving hook 23, said hook being preferably provided with a collar 24 which is engaged with the end of the finger 21 and is rigidly secured in position thereon by a set screw 25. Pivotally mounted on the outer end of the arm of the finger 21 adjacent the outer side of the stationary hook 23 is a guard hook 26 the end of which is. slightly ofiset or bent laterally to engage one side of the end of the stationary hook 23 and to co-act with said stationary hook to support the mail bag in position to be delivered to and taken by a stationary bag receiving and delivering mechanism hereinafter described. The hook 26 is normally held in yielding engagement with the hook 23 by a coiled spring 27, one end of which is secured to the hook and the other end to the outer end. of the finger 21. WVhen thus arranged the tension of the spring is exerted to yieldingly hold the ends of the hooks 23 in operative engagement. The outer end of the finger 21. on which the hooks 23 and 26 are arranged is preferably reduced and is provided with a head 28 as shown. The guard hook 26 is provided with an extended shank 29 which provides a trip arm whereby the hook 26 is tripped by the stationary bag receiving mechanism hereinafter described thereby disengaging the bill of the hook from the stationary hook 23 and permitting the bag to be readily disengaged or removed from said hook.

To the short lower member or finger 22 of the arm is secured a bag catching receptacle 30 which is adapted to receive the mail bag from the stationary delivering and receiving apparatus hereinafter described. The receptacle 30 is preferably in the form of a flexible bag the upper edge of which is secured to a supporting ring 31. The ring 31 is preferably of substantially elliptical shape and is disposed at a suitable angle for supporting the mouth of the receptacle 30 in position to readily receive the mail bag. The ring 31 is secured to the finger or member 22 of the arm 20 in any suitable manner. The receptacle 30 is braced and further held in position to receive the mail bag by a depending bracing member 32 which is preferably in the form of a. U-shaped frame secured at its upper ends to the finger 22 and having its lower portion engaging the rear side of the receptacle 30 as shown. The receptacle is preferably provided in its rear side with a plurality of air holes 33 which permit air to escape when the receptacle is brought into forcible engagement with the mail bag, thus preventing air pressure which m1ght interfere with the entrance of the mail bag into the receptacle or which might cause the bursting of the latter when the mail bag is received by the receptacle.

In connection with the receiving and delivering apparatus carried by the car, I also provide a stationary bag receiving and delivering apparatus comprising a post 34 which is arranged in a suitable position alongside the tracks and has pivotally mounted on its upper end a bag supporting arm 35. The arm 35 is provided on its inner end with a counterbalancing weight 36 and has its opposite end forked to form upper and lower members or fingers 37 and 38' The finger 38 extends straight out from the end of the arm 35 to a considerably greater distance than the finger 37 which is spaced and offset to a considerable distance from the inner portion of the finger 38 as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The outer end of the finger 38 is reduced and has fixedly secured thereto a stationary bag supporting hook 39 said hook being secured to the reduced end of the finger 38 by a collar 40, and a set screw 41 as shown. Loosely mounted on the reduced end of the finger 38 is a guard hook 42 the end or bill of which normally engages the end of the stationary hook 39 and serves to hold the mail bag in position on said stationary hook. The guard hook 42 is held in operative engagement with the stationary hook 39 by a coiled spring 43 one end'of which is secured to the guard hook and the other end to the reduced end of the finger whereby thetension of the spring is exerted to hold the bill of the hook in operative engagement with the end of the stationary hook 39. The guard hook 42 is provided with an extended shank 44 which forms a trip arm which is adapted to be engaged by the bag receiving mechanism of the car when brought into position to receive the bag from the finger 38 of the stationary delivering and receiving mechanism.

To the end of the offset finger 37 is secured a receptacle 45 which is in the form of a flexible bag the mouth or outer edge of which is secured to a supporting ring 46 which in turn is fastened to the linger 37 in any suitable manner for holding the mouth or open end of the receptacle 45 in position to receive the mail bag from the delivering mechanism of the car. The receptacle 45 is further held in position and braced by a bracing member 47 which is constructed in a similar manner to the brace member 32 on the bag receiving mechanism of'the car.

By providing the arm 35 with a counterbalancing weight 36 the arm will be swung upwardly to the dotted line position a shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, when there are no mail bags supported by the arm. When the mail bag is hung on the finger 38 of the arm the weight of the mail bag will swing the arm downwardly to a horizontal position in which position said arm will be maintained by a rod 49 loosely connected at its lower end with the post 34 and having on its upper end a hook adapted to be engaged with an eye 50 on the weighted end of the arm 38. When thus secured the arm 38 will hold the mail bag in position to be taken by the receiving apparatus of the car and will hold the receptacle 45 in position to receive the mail bag delivered from the car. After the mail bag has been delivered from the car to the receptacle 45 the hooked end of the rod 49 is disconnected from the eye 50 and if the weight of the mail bag in the receptacle is not sutlicient to swing the arm downwardly the receptacle may be grasped and the arm pulled downwardly to the dotted line position shown atb in Fig. 4 of the drawings wherein the mail bag may be readily removed from the receptacle after which the arm is released to permit the weight 86 thereon to swing the same upwardly to the inoperative and out of the way position shown by the dotted lines a.

By constructing the bag delivering and receiving apparatus for the car as herein shown and described, it will be seen that on the approach of the car to the stationary receiving and delivering apparatus that the valve 12 may be turned by means of its handle 19 to connect the air supply pipe with the air inlet pipe 13 connecting with one end of the cylinder 4, thereby forcing the piston 5 and piston rod 6 outwardly which action will project the arm 20 and the bag carrying and receiving mechanism outwardly through the car door opening and beyond the side of the car to a sullicient distance for delivering the bag carried thereby to the stationary receiving apparatus and for receiving the bag from the delivering mechanism of the stationary apparatus. After the bags have thus been exchanged the valve 12 may be turned in the proper direction for admitting air into the opposite end of the cylinder and releasing the air from the end of the cylinder in which it was previously admitted, thereby forcing the piston 5 back in the cylinder and thus retracting the piston rod and the arm 20', thereby bringing the bag delivering and receiving mechanism back into the car whereupon the mail bag may be readily removed from the receptacle 30 by the mail clerks.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is;

1. In a mail bag delivering and receiving apparatus for railway cars, a bag supporting mechanism slidably mounted in the car, a compressed air cylinder also arranged in the car, a piston slidably mounted in said cylinder, a piston rod connected with said piston and with said bag supporting mechanism, air conducting pipes to connect the opposite ends of said cylinder with the compressed air reservoir of the car, a valve to control the admission and discharge of the air to the opposite ends of said cylinder whereby the piston therein is projected and retracted and thereby projects and retracts said bag supporting mechanism to operative and inoperative positions for delivering and receiving the mail bags, and a stationary mail bag supporting and delivering mechanism adapted to coact with the delivering and receiving mechanism of the car whereby the mail bags supported by said delivering and receiving apparatus are exchanged while the car is in motion.

2. A mail bag delivering and receiving apparatus comprising an arm, means to slidably support said arm in position to be projected and retracted through the door of the car, a fluid pressure projecting and re tracting mechanism connected with said arm, a bag supporting finger on the outer end of said arm, a bag receiving finger also arranged on the end of said arm below said bag supporting finger, bag supporting hooks arranged on said supporting finger and adapted to support a mail bag in position to be delivered, a mail bag receptacle secured to the bag receiving finger of said arm, a brace to support said receptacle, and a stationary bag receiving and delivering mechanism adapted to co-act with the receiving and delivering mechanism of the car whereby the mail bags supported by said stationary delivering mechanism and the delivery mechanism of the car are exchanged.

3. In a mail bag delivering and receiving apparatus for cars, a bag supporting arm having its outer end forked to provide a bag supporting and delivering finger, and a bag receiving finger, said bag supporting finger being spaced from the bag receiving finger and projecting a considerable distance beyond the same and having its outer end reduced, a head arranged on the reduced end of the finger, a stationary bag supporting hook secured to said reduced end of the finger, a guard hook loosely mounted on said reduced end, a spring having one end secured to said head and the other end to said movable hook whereby the hook is held in yielding engagement with the bill of the stationary hook to detachably hold the bag in engagement with said stationary hook, a shank formed on said movable hook and adapted to be tripped to disengage the bill of the hook from the bill of the stationary hook whereby the mail bag is released and permitted to be removed from said stationary hook, and a bag receptacle secured to said bag receiving finger of the arm to receive a mail bag delivered thereby.

4. In a mailbag delivering and receiving apparatus for cars, a bag supporting arm having its outer end forked to provide a bag supporting and delivering finger and a bag receiving finger, said bag receiving finger being spaced from and of considerably shorter length than said supporting finger, a mail bag receptacle secured to said bag receiving finger, said receptacle comprising a flexible bag having in its rear side, holes to permit the escape of air through the rear side of the bag, a supporting ring secured in the mouth of the bag whereby 'the'same is held open and at the proper angle to receive my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

i TIMOTHY REEVES.

Witnesses:

LOUIS BALER, Jr., TIMOTHY Rnnvns, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissionerof Patents Washington, D. C. 

